Hi, i'm vicky this is my first post, can anyone tell me the proper way to drive a manual in stop/go traffic? I live in the city and i just bought a 94 integra. I've been riding the clutch but i heard this is a bad idea. Should I be shifting into neutral and shift it back into 1st. Seems kinda tidious. what do you guys do?
today I put it back into neutral and when i put it in 1st i heard something grind i think. All i know is that it didn't sound too good. It only happen 3-4 times.

vicky

 

it is tedious, but it's what i do. that's why i don't drive my car when i know i'll be going through a lot of traffic. of course if its rapid stop and go just holdin the clutch in will suffice instead of neutral, just not for a long time.

 

thank you, but do you know why it makes a crank or grind noise when i shift from neutral to 1st? it does it few times.

 

it shouldn't unless your synchros are messed up... unless you're forcing in while the car is moving. in that case, rev match, it should work.

 

i only have this problem when my Skunk 2 ss went it....shifting became a BiatCh~

 

yes i wondered why to, rev match solves the problem...

 

Driving in traffic can be a pain in the a$$...that's the only downside for a manual in my book. I assume your car was already slowly rolling when you tried to put it into first. This would explaine the sound of the grinding gears. Depending on the condition of a manual it is difficult to engage first gear if you are already going around 8-12 mph. Someone w/ a better technical knowledge of these things can explaine it better then me. Anyway, use 2nd gear if you are rolling just below or above 10mph...this will cause the engine to bog down at first, but it is better then having to force it into 1st gear. Avoid riding the clutch unless you have lots of cash to spend on buying a new clutch. If you are on an incline you can use the e-brake to hold the car while you start to engage the clutch. Once you start to feel the clutch engaging, release the e-brake and fully engage the clutch at the same time. I hope this helps.

 

is riding ur clutch really THAT bad? cuz i barely ever shift to neutral while drving, at lights i just keep the clutch down. i have a cm stage 4 so is that shiet honestly gonna wear out? it's not an organic clutch.

 

You wear out your release bearing

 

You have to REV Match to get into First Gear and Rev Match all the other gears will keep your syncro from doing the work which equals to syncro lasting longer. And to get it all down its all about PRACTICE

Oh and you can't get into first gear is because dere is no syncro
(Rev Match: Your New Friend)


[Modified by Fuuma0083, 12:07 PM 10/12/2002]

 

Yeah you want to take it out of gear instead of riding clutch. ps a litte clutch rideage is ok from time to time. Welcome to Honda tech btw

 

what he said. you might also want to double clutch back into 1st. aka car is in 1st, clutch is in, shift to neutral, clutch in, clutch out, clutch in, 1st again.

 

You don't really need the clutch when downshifting. But, I would use it upshifting...sometimes

 

"you might also want to double clutch back into 1st. aka car is in 1st, clutch is in, shift to neutral, clutch in, clutch out, clutch in, 1st again."


Double-clutching in a syncro-mesh gearbox is useless. It's not like you are going to wear out the dog-rings or anything

 

Bwahaha, another like me ^_^ I sometimes don't use the clutch either to upshift or down. It's bad for the synchros, so I only do it to show off =P

 

if you are moving fast enough that shifting into 1st gear grinds, i would recommend using 2nd. but if you are on a hill and need 1st gear, then double clutch. i don't know what all that "clutch out, clutch in, clutch out" was all about, but the way i understand it, double clutching is shifting into neutral, engage the clutch, rev match the engine and the transmission, depress the clutch, and select gear. double clutching does help because it will shift more smoothly. holding the clutch down constantly will wear the throwout bearing, however it's pretty much personal preference. and for some reason, people are really impressed when you can up/down shift without the clutch. but then sometimes it grinds and they aren't so impressed anymore.

 

Wow I should tell this to both my b-series transmissions which always go back into first a lot easier during a double clutch. I'll have to go find my old tranny too to have a pep-talk with him about the way he should have still grinded when I double clutched! Thanks for the tip! Damn my unobeying trannies!!!

 

Not true. It is not necessary, but synchros ARE in fact a wear item, and proper double-clutching can and will extend their life.